


Revelations and Ramblings

by hope27



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-25
Updated: 2013-06-25
Packaged: 2017-12-16 02:48:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/856900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hope27/pseuds/hope27
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Felicity Smoak has her suspicions about Oliver Queen.  After all, his stories are becoming ridiculous and after her boss disappears, she's just waiting for the moment to confront him.  That moment comes one night when he shows up at her apartment.  Set after 1x09 on the premise that Felicity has to know something is up with Oliver.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Revelations and Ramblings

**Author's Note:**

> The first Oliver/Felicity fic I wrote. Set after 1x09. AU (due to later episodes).

The knock on her door was unexpected. Glancing at the clock on her computer screen, she saw that it was almost ten at night. She waited, looking at the door, thinking maybe she was just hearing things. After all, she had been a bit jumpy ever since her boss had disappeared six weeks ago after having her look into information he told her could be dangerous to explore. To say her nerves were fraying at the end would be an understatement at this point. She felt like she was just waiting until some hooded figure came for her and dragged her to an underground parking lot to try and get whatever information she knew…

And she wondered why her friends said she had an overactive imagination. She grimaced as the knock sounded once more.

Sighing, she quietly set her laptop on the coffee table and tiptoed over to the door.

Come on, Felicity, she mentally berated herself, do kidnappers usually knock?

She smiled at her own inner thoughts before glancing through the peephole in her door. Her eyebrows rose when she saw who was waiting for her on the other side.

Oliver Queen.

Of course, he would decide now was the time to start making house calls to ask for favors. She had chosen her favorite pair of pajamas to put on when she came home from work, but they also happened to be her most ragged. A few holes in the sweatshirt and the superman pattern on the pants was almost completely faded. 

Trying to calm the nervous flutter of her heart rate, she unbolted the three new locks (plus the original one that came with the door) that she had installed on her door in the last few months and opened it to the man waiting in the hallway.

“Um…hi,” she said, trying to stop the flow of babbling thoughts that wanted to spill from her mouth and instead find words that would not horribly embarrass her.

Oliver nodded his head quickly and smiled back at her with his normal tight smile. Felicity had wondered if that smile was genuine or not when she first met him. It seemed forced, as if he was hiding behind it. But she had learned over the course of their few brief interactions that this smile was one he used often and frequently and while it might be hiding some emotions, it was not completely fake.

“What…what are you doing here?” She finally managed to say, glancing around the hallway behind him to make sure no one else was there. Who else would be there, Felicity? The boogeyman? Get a hold of yourself.

He must have noticed her glance behind him because he too looked and then peered questioningly at her. “Expecting someone?”

“No, no…” she replied quickly. “Do you want to come in?” Just get in so I can shut the door.

He nodded and stepped into her small apartment. She quickly closed and re-bolted the door. Turning back to him, she noticed the question in his eyes as he stared at her now heavily locked door.

His eyes roamed over her, and she wanted to squirm under his heated gaze. There were times when Oliver Queen looked at you that you felt as if he could see every last thought and feeling in your mind. This was one of those times.

“Felicity,” he said her name so succinctly, yet she could hear the sincerity in his voice, “is everything okay?”

She stared at him, and she knew that he was reading her. Every last detail. And she knew there would be no use lying even though he was pretty good at lying or telling half-truths to her…that was something else she needed to discuss with him. But she wanted to put that confrontation off for at least a few more minutes.

“Um…I…I’m fine,” she tried, and even she didn’t believe her tone. He grimaced and shot her a knowing look.

“Alright, fine,” she huffed, shoving past him and into the living room where she sank onto her couch, “Maybe I got a little paranoid after my boss disappeared…plus there have been some break-ins in the complex lately. You can’t be too safe. I mean, I guess you could be…you could wrap yourself in bubble wrap or put yourself in a bubble like the boy in that movie. But he had to do that because he was allergic to everything so I don’t know if that counts…”

She let her thought drop off and then looked up to where he’d come to stand almost in front of her just listening to her as she ranted. A small smile played around the corner of his lips, and she realized in that moment that she wanted to see more of that smile because it would be different than the one he usually gave people. It would be completely genuine and light up his blue eyes. Yes, she definitely wanted to see that smile.

Feeling her cheeks heat up, she scrunched up her nose, “Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” he replied, “I think it’s kind of cute. You ramble when you get nervous.”

That smile was still tugging at his lips and she couldn’t help but smile back. Oliver Queen had just said the word “cute.” Her inner tween giggled in delight, but she put on a mask of maturity. “Cute is one of the nicer things my ramblings have been called,” she commented, pushing a piece of blonde hair out of her face. “So thank you.”

Oliver nodded and then brought his hands out from behind his back. How had she not noticed he had been hiding something from her? Oh, yeah, you were too busy looking at his cute smile…

“I came by because I owe you a bottle of wine,” he stated matter-of-factly as he placed the bottle on the table in front of her. Her eyes immediately lit up and she reached for the present, noting that it was definitely not a cheap vintage.

Her eyebrows scrunched up after a moment when she looked back at him, “But there was no scavenger hunt,” she stated without any hesitation. Might as well jump right in, she thought.

Raising his eyebrows, he just stared at her, daring her to keep going. And this is where she knew she would start to rattle on and on if she wasn’t careful. But she had to find out because her suspicions were becoming too much. 

“So far, you’ve brought me a bullet-hole infested laptop, a name of a man who ended up dead after robbing banks, a mysterious arrow and a fob that ended up belonging to a security company that was robbing armed trucks,” she began cautiously after taking a deep breath, internally wishing she had written down some sort of script but knowing that something like that would be beyond silly. “Either you need to find better friends or there’s something you’re not telling me…”

She let her sentence hang in the air between them and watched as he simply stared at her, another smile playing at his lips, but this one was more dangerous, a challenge hanging on the edges. Silently, he crossed to the fireplace and leaned against the wall, folding his arms across his chest, he didn’t say a word. He just waited.

“Mr. Queen…Oliver,” she hesitated, trying to figure out which one sounded right on her lips. “I gave you information regarding the robberies of those armor trucks and the next thing I’m hearing on the news is that the vigilante…The Hood…has stopped one from happening and that the ring leader was shot with an arrow at another site. I know I’m just a computer geek, not a detective, and some might say that means I have no street smarts and am naïve but I’m not stupid…”

At that he spoke, “No, Felicity, you’re definitely not stupid.” His voice was soft and low, comforting in its weight and timbre. She closed her eyes briefly soaking in that sound and the words. They were a balm to old wounds that he couldn’t possibly know about.

When she opened her eyes, they widened at seeing Oliver Queen sitting directly in front of her on her coffee table. His eyes were searching hers, waiting patiently for her to gather her thoughts and put them together.

He wanted her to say the words out loud, she realized. He was going to make her do the work. He wasn’t going to give her anything. Fine, she thought, I love mysteries and I know I’ve figured this one out. Even though I did run around my apartment screaming into a pillow when I first realized it. She wouldn’t tell him that.

“You’re him, aren’t you?” She finally whispered, holding his gaze although she wanted to look anywhere and everywhere else. His close proximity was sending her heartbeat into overdrive. “You’re the vigilante…The Hood…or whatever ridiculous name they are saying. Which they should really come up with a better name…I mean, The Hood is pretty lame…and I think it should be something more…”

This time he did cut her off although that same smile was playing at his lips. His eyes, however, were completely serious. She tried to ignore the heat that coursed through her from the pressure of his finger on her lips. 

“I knew you would figure it out.” He finally whispered, a look that somewhat resembled pride flickering in his eyes.

She narrowed her gaze. “You wanted me to figure it out?” she asked in disbelief, realizing that she had received her answer, confirming her suspicions. She shook her head trying to take everything in.

He removed his finger from her lips and she almost frowned at the loss of warmth.

“More like, I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep it a secret from you because I need you,” he answered cryptically. 

She furrowed her brow even more, “Need me?”

Oliver just smiled leaning back, “You are one of the best at what you do. And, yes, I need you for that.”

She opened her mouth trying to form sentences out of the thoughts of thoughts and questions flying though her brain, but he stopped her, holding up his hand. 

“I know you have questions…but, first, just sleep on it, okay?” He asked, speaking to her as if talking to a scared animal. He was being gentle almost as if he was afraid he was going to spook her. He didn’t realize she wasn’t scared easily. Not anymore. Okay, except when her boss is kidnapped and she has information that might put her in danger and no one else knows about it…

“I can do that.” She finally responded, nodding and closing her mouth that she realized had been hanging open.

He smiled, a chuckle escaping his lips. And Felicity couldn’t help but decide right then and there that she loved that sound.

“Good. You know you’re taking this alot better than Diggle did.” He rose from where he was seated and started to walk to the door. Without warning, he spun around and she looked up at him from where she had stood from the couch.

“The locks…” he trailed off, eyes narrowing, questioning. “You need to do some explaining too. But for now, I’ll have Diggle come by in the morning and install an actual security system.”

“You don’t have to do that,” she told him, crossing her arms, “I’m fine.”

He smiled that tight, sharp smile – the one that didn’t reach his eyes, the one that meant he meant business. “If you believed that, there wouldn’t be four newly installed locks on your door.”

She let out a sigh, knowing he was right. At her nod, he turned and crossed to the door, unlocking and opening it.

“Felicity,” he started, turning to look at her as he backed out of her apartment, “You’re smarter than all of them.”

She stared dumbfounded at the door he just disappeared through, his words echoing through her apartment. He couldn’t know about that…It had been high school…so long ago. And even though she’d healed those wounds long ago, his words were like balm to her scars and she smiled, flopping back on to the couch and picking up the bottle of wine.

Written across the top of the label were the words: “Welcome to the team.”


End file.
